Method of mounting an outer skin to an inner panel of a vehicle door

ABSTRACT

A vehicle door includes a module to which the door hardware can be attached and tested off line prior to shipment to the vehicle manufacturer.

This is a continuation division of U.S. pat. application Ser. No.089,305, now Pat. 4,800,638, filed Aug. 25, 1988, entitled "A Method ofMounting an Outer Skin to an Inner Panel of a Vehicle Door".

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to vehicles and, more particularly, to doors forland vehicles.

DISCUSSION

Conventional vehicle doors have been generally constructed on apiecemeal basis at sequential stages during an on-line assembly process.The main door unit usually includes a relatively thin (on the order of0.030 inch) metal stamping forming an inner panel. A crash-resistant bargenerally referred to as an intrusion beam is welded tolongitudinally-extending flange portions of the inner panel. Thecosmetic outer panel or skin is hemmed around the marginal edges of theinner panel. The lower portion of the main door unit has a hollow lowercavity and the inner panel in this area includes a plurality of accessopenings.

It is usually necessary to reinforce the inner panel, for example, alongthe sides thereof where hinges are mounted. The main door unit is hungon the vehicle body about these hinges and can be painted simultaneouslywith the rest of the vehicle.

Door hardware including the window regulator unit and door latchingmechanisms are attached to the inner panel by workers who mustmanipulate these components through the access openings in the innerpanel. After the door is completed, it is then usually tested to ensurethat the window and door locks are operating properly.

There are several problems associated with the conventional approach. Itis a time-consuming and, at best, awkward task to require the worker toassemble the door hardware through the relatively small access openingsin the inner panel. Consequently, it is not uncommon for improperinstallation to result. Unfortunately, it is only possible to do thefinal testing of the window and door locks after the door has beenpainted and all of the labor intensive operations of assembling the doorhave been completed. If repair becomes necessary, it remains a tediousprocess to remove and replace the components since access to the doorhardware must again be made by removing the interior trim panel andmanipulating the components through the access openings in the innerpanel. There is no access from the exterior of the vehicle since theouter panel is permanently affixed to the inner panel.

The conventional door construction also tends to be relatively heavy andrequires many different operations to complete it. In addition to thosesteps noted above, it is usually necessary to use heavy steelreinforcement plates to add strength to the relatively thin inner panel.This increases weight and manufacturing costs. It is also sometimesdifficult to meet assembly tolerances since the door hardware componentsare mounted to the inner panel with a multiplicity of parts such asbrackets and the like. It is recognized that it becomes more difficultto meet the overall tolerance for the completed assembly when more partsare used, not to mention inventory overhead and other problemsassociated with the use of many parts.

The glass track in which the door window glass rides often has a channelsection half of which is located on the exterior side of the glass. As aresult, it is not possible for the glass to lie flush with the rest ofthe vehicle body and such flushness may be cosmetically advantageous forsome vehicle designs. In addition, typical glass track constructionsoften do not provide any significant range of adjustment. In fact, it isoften commonplace for the manufacturer or dealer to employ a brute forceapproach using lumber as a lever to bend the glass track and inner panelinto proper alignment with the rest of the vehicle body. Of course, thisapproach is inconsistent, labor intensive and can cause damage tostructural and other components within the door.

One of the most important aspects of door assembly is to have itproperly aligned with the surrounding vehicle body. Unfortunately,conventional door constructions only provide a very limited range ofadjustments. This is generally provided by the hinges on the door.Often, the hinges are not easily accessible and do not provide thenecessary range of adjustments in all directions. In any event, thehinge adjustments are relatively time-consuming trial and errorprocedures.

The present invention is directed to solving one or more of theseproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the teachings of the preferred embodiment of thisinvention, a modular door is formed of an inner panel made up of legportions providing a peripheral frame conforming to a door opening inthe vehicle. An intrusion beam is fixed to opposite legs of the innerpanel adjacent the inner side thereof and carries operating hardware foroperating various components associated with the door. The door hingeassemblies and door latch portion associated with the door are securedto the inner panel and intrusion beam so that impact loads aretransmitted to the vehicle body.

The window is carried in a window track member nested in the inner paneladjacent the outer side thereof. Suitable guide means are providedadjacent the outer side of the inner panel for guiding the opening andclosing movement of the window. With this arrangement the window issubstantially flush with the outer skin of the vehicle body.

The window track member is more rigid than the inner panel and isinitially mounted in the inner panel to pivot slightly about an axisthrough the belt line. Thus, the inner panel can be adjusted relative tothe vehicle body to provide a tight fit with the seal therebetween bypivoting the upper portion of the window track member and thus the innerpanel. After the adjustment, the lower portion of the window trackmember is fixed in place.

According to other teachings of the preferred embodiment of thisinvention, the door latching means including a handle is entirelyattached to the inner panel so that the door latching hardware can beassembled and tested off line prior to attaching an outer panel to theinner panel. The outer panel has an opening aligned with the door handleto provide the user with access to the handle after the outer panel hasbeen attached to the inner panel.

Preferably, the door latching hardware is assembled to a module whichcontains most of the door components except for the outer panel andinner trim panel. In such manner, off line testing of all of the doorcomponents can be accomplished and the module easily mounted duringconventional on line assembly. Among the additional advantages of thisinvention is that the door hardware can be attached to the inner panelquite easily since it is no longer necessary for the worker tomanipulate individual components through access openings in the innerpanel as was done in the past. As noted above, final testing of the doorhardware can be accomplished off line and before the outer panel isattached. Consequently, replacement of parts can be done easily if thisbecomes necessary. If repair is required after the vehicle has beenshipped from the factory, access to the door hardware components isstill easily obtainable by removing the outer panel. Work on the doorhardware can be done from the exterior of the vehicle thereby evenfurther facilitating the process.

According to another feature of this invention, a technique is providedfor mounting the outer skin to the inner panel of the vehicle door. Amounting plate is attached to the interior perimeter of the outer skin,the mounting plate having a plurality of shanked fasteners protrudinginwardly therefrom. The skin/mounting plate subassembly is brought intogeneral alignment with the inner panel which has already been mounted tothe vehicle. The shanks of the fasteners are inserted through elongatedslots formed in the inner panel. Then, the skin/mounting platesubassembly is brought into precise alignment with adjacent vehicle bodyportions. The outer skin is maintained in this precise alignmentlocation by fixing the positions of the fasteners relative to the innerpanel from within the interior of the vehicle while the door is shut.

Still other features of this invention are directed to a doorconstruction in which the window glass can be easily slid out of thebottom of the door for purposes of repair or replacement.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various other advantages of this invention shall become apparent tothose skilled in the art upon reading the following specification and byreference to the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a door made in accordance withthe teachings of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the general steps carried out inmaking the door module designated with the reference letter A in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the door module with theexception of the window subassembly;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view including the window subassembly;

FIG. 5 is a partial cross sectional view taken along the lines 5--5 ofFIG. 1 which illustrates a preferred method of connecting sheet metalparts;

FIG. 6 is a simplified cross sectional view taken along the lines 6--6of FIG. 1 which illustrates the glass track adjustment techniqueaccording to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along the lines 7--7 ofFIG. 6 which illustrates the method of adjusting the outer panelrelative to the rest of the door in accordance with the teachings ofthis invention;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken along the lines 8--8 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a partial cross sectional view taken along the lines 9--9 ofFIG. 1 which shows the window glass track and seals above the belt lineof the door;

FIG. 10 is a partial cross sectional view taken along the lines 10--10of FIG. 1 which shows the window glass track and seals below the beltline; and

FIG. 11 is a partial cross sectional view taken along the lines 11--11of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A. Overview

The door 10 made in accordance with the teachings of the preferredembodiment of this invention includes three main parts: a main doormodule 12, an outer skin or panel 14 and an inner trim panel 16 as canbe seen most clearly in FIG. 1. Much of the focus of this invention isdirected to the door module 12. Door module 12 consists of an integralunit to which all of the window regulator and door latching hardware hasbeen attached. As will appear, the attachment and testing of the doorhardware can be performed easily off-line before shipping the module tothe vehicle manufacturer. It is envisioned that the vehicle manufacturerwill paint the outer skin 14 simultaneously with the rest of the car,then attach door module 12 to the body and, finally, attach the outerpanel 14 and interior trim pad or panel 16.

The following sections will describe the construction and assembly ofthe door 10 in more detail.

(1) Intrusion Beam and Hardware and Electrical Control Attachment

The main door module 12 includes an inner panel 18 in the form of arelatively thin (about 0.030 inch) sheet metal stamping defining a shapecorresponding to that of the door opening in the vehicle with which itwill be used. In the embodiment disclosed herein the frame defines alower generally rectangular portion which accommodates the outer panel14 and inner trim panel 16 and further defines a generally trapezoidalupper portion that receives a window 126, its associated track andseals. The intersection of the upper and lower portions of the frame isgenerally referred to as the belt line. Below the belt line, the innerpanel 18 includes front and rear lower leg portions 20 and 22(alternatively referred to as laterally-extending side walls) connectedby a bottom leg portion 24. The leg portions 20 and 22 have a generallyL-shaped cross section. One leg of the L-shaped extends adjacent theinner trim panel 16 and generally parallel to the axis of the vehicle(this leg is alternatively referred to herein as alongitudinally-extending peripheral face) and the other leg extendsgenerally transverse to that axis and terminates adjacent the outer skin14. Thus, the frame has a free edge adjacent the outer skin 14 and anedge where the legs intersect adjacent the inner trim panel 16. In use,the front lower leg portion 20 is adjacent the front door post (the Apost) of the vehicle, the rear lower leg portion 22 is adjacent the reardoor post (the B post) of the vehicle and the bottom leg portion 24 isadjacent the bottom sill of the vehicle.

At the upper edge of the front lower leg portion 20, the metal stampingis bent at an angle so that it forms an upper front leg portion 26extending toward the rear door post of the vehicle; at the upper edge ofthe rear lower leg portion 22 the metal stamping extends upwardlyforming an upper rear leg portion 28. The upper leg portions 26 and 28are connected by a top leg portion 230 (see, e.g. FIG. 3). The legportions 26, 28 and 30 are generally U-shaped in cross section andinclude a connecting leg generally parallel to thelongitudinally-extending peripheral face of the lower leg portions and apair of legs extending therefrom in the same direction as the transverseleg of the lower leg portions.

An intrusion beam 32 is provided for reinforcing the door and absorbingimpact forces in the event of a collision. The intrusion beam inaccordance with this invention is a generally trapezoidal-shaped memberin plan view and is formed by a relatively rigid sheet metal web 34formed with a front flange 36 and a rear flange 38. The web tapers froma larger dimension adjacent the front flange 36 to a smaller dimensionadjacent the rear flange 38 so that the front flange is longer than therear flange. Various openings are formed in the web 34 to provide aweight reduction benefit or to accommodate any radio speakers or othercomponents located in the door.

The intrusion beam 32 can be secured to the inner panel 12 from the openside, i.e., the side that is to be adjacent the outer skin 14 and freeedge. The front flange 36 is secured to the transverse leg of the frontlower leg portion 20 and the rear flange 38 is secured to the transverseleg of rear lower leg portion 22. Securing the flanges 36 and 38 to theleg portions 20 and 22 can be accomplished by any suitable fasteningmeans and in the preferred embodiment disclosed herein it isaccomplished by a system know as TOG-L-LOC (a trademark of BTM Corp. ofMarysville, MI) which is shown in FIG. 5 and where the sheet metal ispunched into conforming engagement.

When the intrusion beam 32 is secured to the inner panel 18, the web 34extends across the lower generally rectangular opening 35 defined by theframe and is closer to the inner edge where the legs of the L-shapedframe intersect than it is to the outer or free edge. In other words,the web 34 is adjacent the longitudinally-extending peripheral face ofthe leg portions 20, 22 and the inner trim panel 16. This contrasts withconventional arrangements where the intrusion beam is adjacent the outerskin 14. In order to comply with Motor Vehicle Safety Standard No. 214(49 CFR 571.21) the intrusion beam 32 should be stronger thanconventional beams because it will be located farther from the outerskin 14 than usual.

The inner panel 18 is provided with parts of door hinge assemblies 40,40 and with parts of a door latch assembly 42. In order to transmitimpact loads to the A and B posts of the vehicle body, the door hingeassemblies 40, 40 should be attached to the front lower leg portion 20adjacent the front flange 36 so that it is connected to both the innerpanel 18 and the intrusion beam 32. When the door is mounted in thevehicle, the hinge assemblies 40, 40 will cooperate with mating hingeassemblies on the A post. Impact loads will be transmitted through theintrusion beam 32, the hinge assemblies 40, 40 and their mating hingeassemblies to the A post. Similarly, the door latch assembly 42 carriedby the door cooperates with a mating door latch assembly carried on theB post of the vehicle. To transmit forces, the door latch assembly 42 issecured to the rear flange 38 of the intrusion beam 32 to transmitimpact forces to the B post of the vehicle body. As best seen in FIG. 3,portions 44 and 46 of the web 34 and the rear flange 38, respectively,are struck out to define an opening 48 into which the door latchassembly 42 is inserted. The door latch assembly 42 is illustrated as abox in which the latching mechanism is enclosed and it is fixed to theweb portion 44 and rear flange portion 46 by suitable fasteners. Thedrawing also illustrates outer and inner links 43, 45 connecting latchassembly 42 to an outer handle 212 and an inner handle (not shown),respectively. Wiring (not shown) for operating door locks in the eventthe door is equipped with power locks may also be provided.

With the web 34 located adjacent the inner trim panel 16, the intrusionbeam 32 can carry operating hardware associated with the doors in anadvantageous modular arrangement. The web 34 is formed with suitableopenings 50 and 51 used to receive fasteners (e.g. 53) and secure thewindow drive sector 52 and the electric motor 54, respectively, to theintrusion beam 32. The window drive sector is a conventional arrangementused to open and close the window 126 of the door. The electric motor 54drives the sector to regulate the window, but it should be understoodthat the motor could be replaced by a manually operable crank assembly.An electrical control panel for operating power windows, door locks,mirrors, etc. can also be accommodated on the intrusion beam 32. To thisend, the web 34 is formed with an offset tray 56 projecting from theface of the web adjacent the inner trim panel 16. The electrical controlpanel (not shown) is secured to the bottom surface of the tray 56 andthe inner trim panel 16 includes upholstery or other decor covering themetal forming the tray 56. Finally, the inner door handle (not shown) isattached to the web 38 so that all operating hardware is attached to theintrusion beam 32.

A wire harness 58 is also associated with the door module 12 forconnecting all electrical equipment in the door to the wire harness ofthe vehicle and thus to an energy source in the vehicle. As isconventional the wire harness 58 fits through an opening in the frontlower leg portion 20. It includes suitable connectors for makingelectrical connections to the electrical equipment.

The window and its associated guide and seals and the outside handle andhousing are also assembled to the inner door panel and will be describedhereinafter. In addition, the outer skin 14 and inner trim panel 16 areattached and will be described hereinafter.

(2) Window, Track and Seal

FIGS. 1, 4, 9 and 10 most clearly illustrate the window, track and sealassemblies which are arranged to provide for the nearly flush mountingof the window 126 relative to the outer skin 14 and the adjacent side ofthe vehicle body. The arrangement includes a glass track 100 formed of arelatively rigid metal member (more rigid than the inner panel 18) bentto a shape so that it can be tightly nested into engagement with theinner panel 18. Thus, the window track 100 has front and rear lower legportions 102 and 104 corresponding to leg portions 20 and 22, front andrear upper leg portions 106 and 108 corresponding to leg portions 26 and28 and a top leg portion 110 corresponding to top leg portion 30. Itdoes, however, have an open side adjacent the bottom leg portion 24 ofthe inner panel 18. When the window track member 100 is nested in theinner panel 18, the legs 106, 108 and 110 engage with the legs 26, 28and 30. In this embodiment, the inner panel 18 includes a mirrormounting gusset 27 at the intersection of the leg portions 20 and 26.Thus, the leg portion 102 does not engage with leg 20 but extends alonga line generally coincident with the inner or free edge 29 of the mirrormounting gusset 27. This is because the window 126 does not extendacross the gusset 27, but terminates at the free edge 29 as seen mostclearly in FIG. 1. Of course, the leg 106 of the window track member 100is shorter than its corresponding leg 26 of the inner panel 18. Thelower end of track leg 102 is provided with a bracket 103 that is fixedto the inner panel 18 at about point 105 shown in FIG. 4.

The leg portions 102, 104, 106, 108 and 110 are somewhat U-shaped incross section with the connecting leg thereof being adjacent theconnecting leg of the generally U-shaped leg portions 26, 28 and 30 andalso the longitudinally-extending peripheral face of the L-shaped legportions 20, 22 and 24. The outer one of the generally parallel legs ofthe U-shaped cross section are adjacent the transverse leg of theL-shaped frame. The glass track 100 is nested in the inner panel 18 asseen in FIGS. 1 and 9 with the open side of its cross section facing theouter skin 14 of the door.

As noted the cross section of the legs is somewhat U-shaped and is thusshown in FIG. 4 for the sake of clarity. The actual shape of legportions 102 and 104 are the same and are most clearly illustrated inFIGS. 9 and 10. These leg portions are formed with a back wall 110 and apair of parallel side walls 112, 114. The back wall 110 is spaced fromthe connecting wall of the generally U-shaped leg portion 28. At an endremote from the back wall 110, side wall 114 is bent inwardly and thenback on itself to form front wall 118 which cooperates with a front wall116 formed at the remote end of side wall 112 so as to define an opening120. The front wall 116 is fastened to the leg portions 26, 28 and 30 ofthe inner panel 18 by way of the TOG-L-LOC connections to hold the glasstrack 100 to the upper leg portions of the frame 18. A portion of sidewall 114 extending beyond the front wall 118 is similarly fixed to theleg portions 26 and 28. As will appear, the lower rear leg 104 of glasstrack 100 is not permanently fixed to allow a range of adjustment whichwill be described later herein.

A seal member 122 is attached to the glass track 100 and the inner frame18. The seal member 122 is made of molded rubber and wraps around theends of side wall portions of the leg portion 28 and the front wall 116of the track 100. A sealing finger 124 also integrally formed as part ofthe seal member is biased as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 9 to bear onthe inner surface of the glass window 126. As shown in FIG. 10, the sealmember 122 does not extend below the belt line.

Still referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, the edges of the window 126 adjacentthe A and B posts carry a clip member 132 which is formed with a pair ofspaced apart legs 134, 136 connected by a leg 138. The leg 134 bears onthe interior surface of the window 126 and the leg 136, also located onthe inside of the window 126, is spaced from it by the leg 138 to form atrack. The reversely bent front wall portion 118 of glass track 100,which is covered by a seal 131, extends between the legs 134 and 136 andthese members cooperate to guide the windows' movement between the openand closed position. The front wall portion thus functions as a guiderail. Preferably conventional cushion members are adhesively secured tothe leg 136.

Because the intrusion beam is adjacent the inner trim panel 16, thefront wall or guide rail 118 can be located adjacent the outer skin 14.In this way the guide means between the window track 100 and the window126 can be arranged so that the window extends beyond the free edge ofthe inner panel 18 to locate the window so that it is almost flush withthe outer skin 14. No part of the guide means (guide rail 118 and thetrack formed between walls 134 and 136) extends around the exteriorsurface of the window 126.

(3) Outside Handle Housing and Mounting

As shown best in FIGS. 3 and 11, a stamped sheet metal housing 200 isfastened to inner panel 18 so that the outer face 202 thereof issubstantially adjacent the free or outer end of frame leg 22. In thepreferred embodiment, housing 200 is essentially U-shaped having a rearwall 204 running parallel to outer face 202. A transverse connectingportion 206 bridges rear wall 204 with outer face 202. Wall 204 andconnecting portion 206 are fastened to belt line reenforcement member210 and to leg 22 of inner panel 18 as by the TOG-L-LOC system notedabove.

A handle assembly includes an outer bezel 218 mounted to the outer face202 of housing 200 by fasteners 201 as seen in FIG. 11. The assembly hasa pivoting handle 212 connected to link 43 and pivotally mounted to pin213 which creates sufficient movement in link 43 when the handle 212 islifted to cause the latch assembly 42 to release. The outer skin 142 hasan aligned opening 215 provided with a suitable seal 214 that allows theuser to access handle 212 when the door is fully assembled.

(4) Window Track Adjustment

Turning now to FIGS. 3, 4 and 6, the glass or window track 100 isarranged to be adjusted during its assembly and even afterward so thatthe body seal, i.e., the seal 140 between the inner periphery of theinner panel 12 and the door opening in the vehicle body, can be adjustedto assure a tight fit. Such a tight fit is important to reduce noisewhen the car is in motion and also, of course, to prevent water leakage.

As shown in FIG. 6, the seal 140 runs around the inner periphery of theleg portions 20, 22, 24, 26, 28 and 30. Seal 140 can be fixed to eitherthe door or the door frame. It is usually in the form of a hollow softrubber member and is compressed between the door and the vehicle bodywhen the door is closed. It is desirable to be able to provide forslight adjustment between the door and vehicle body to assure a tightfit. This is particularly important in the interface between the doorand vehicle body adjacent the window 126. Here adjustments on the orderof about 0.04 to about 0.08 of an inch can assure an air tight interfaceand reduce air noise in the vehicle passenger compartment.

To provide such adjustability, the window track 100 is mounted to theinner panel 18 so that the track can be pivoted to or away from thevehicle body (the side of the inner panel 18 adjacent the inner trimpanel 16) just enough to adjust the fit between the upper portions ofthe door module 12 and the vehicle body. The upper portions of windowtrack 100 is placed inside the inner panel 18 and are permanentlysecured thereto by suitable fasteners, the lowermost of which is shownat 142. Generally, this connection is made at the belt line of thedoor--at or just below the intersection of leg portions 20 and 26, 102and 106, 22 and 28, 104 and 108. The connection can be made by the samemeans illustrated in FIG. 5 or any other means which will allow somerotation of the window track 100 about the fastener 142. The lower endof track leg 102 is similarly fixed to panel 18 via stand off bracket103. Leg 104, however, is adjustable as will appear so that it can lockthe upper door portions in place.

Once the window track 100 and inner panel 18 are so fastened, the legportions 106, 108 and 110 of the window track 100 can be pivoted aboutthe connection point 142 either toward or away from the vehicle body(see ADJ. in FIG. 6). The window track 100 is more rigid than the innerpanel 18, and because of this the inner panel pivots with the windowtrack and assumes the same orientation. This pivoting continues untilthe proper spacing between upper portions of the door and the vehiclebody is obtained. For this purpose the bottom, free end of at least oneof the lower track legs (here leg 104) is provided with a bracket 144having a circular hole 146 which is aligned with a laterally extendingslot 148 in a tab 150 depending from the intrusion beam 32. The threadedshank of a fastener 152 passes through the hole 146 in bracket 144 andslot 148 in tab 150 and is provided with a nut 153. The orientation ofslot 148 permits the lower track leg 104 to move in/out laterallythereby pivoting the upper door portions until the desired adjustmentwith seal 140 is made. Then, the nut 153 is tightened to maintain theadjusted position of the door.

(5) Outer Skin Panel Adjustment

As can be seen most clearly in FIGS. 1, 3, 7 and 8, a mounting plate 250is attached to the interior perimeter of the outer skin 14. Preferably,skin 14 is attached to plate 250 by way of folding over the marginaledges of the skin 14 as can be seen most clearly in FIG. 7. Plate 250includes laterally extending side walls 252 which conforms in part toportions 254 of the side walls of the inner panel 18. Mounting plate 250is constructed so that its longitudinally extending face 256 extendsparallel to but is spaced from outer skin 14.

Mounting plate 250 includes a plurality of elongated slots 258 locatedabout the four corners thereof. As can be seen most clearly in FIG. 3,inner panel 18 likewise includes a plurality of elongated slots 260located about the four corners thereof in general alignment with theslots 258 in mounting plate 250. The slots 258 run in a generallytransverse direction to the direction in which slots 260 run.

Threaded fasteners 262 are provided for each slot pair. Fasteners 262each includes a threaded shank 264 and an enlarged head 266 located inthe space between the plate face 256 and the door skin 14. The shanks264 extend through the slots 260 in the inner panel 18 and are held inplace by way of nuts 268.

Provision is made for pressing the outer skin 14 away from the innerpanel 18 and in the disclosed embodiment, this is provided by way ofcompression springs 270 which surround the shank 264 of the fasteners262. The compression springs can take many forms such as the bellowsshape illustrated in the drawings.

In accordance with the method of this invention, the door module 12 ispreassembled and shipped to the vehicle manufacturer as represented bythe steps shown in FIG. 2. Likewise, the outer skin 14 is preassembledto its mounting plate 250 and shipped to the vehicle manufacturer. Theskin 14 and vehicle are then painted. The vehicle manufacturer thenattaches the door module 12 to the vehicle.

To attach the outer skin/mounting plate subassembly, it is brought intogeneral alignment with the inner panel 18 which has already been mountedto the vehicle. The shanks of the fasteners 262 are inserted through theslots 260 in the inner panel 18. A worker from the exterior of thevehicle then manipulates the outer skin until it is brought into precisealignment with adjacent vehicle body portions while the door is shut.Then, the outer skin is secured in its precision alignment by tighteningthe nuts 268 from within the interior of the vehicle while the doorremains shut. The configuration of the slots 258 and 260 allow forhorizontal and vertical adjustment of the outer skin while thecompression springs 270 provide a degree of in/out adjustment known inthe trade as the "Z" direction. The compression springs 270 effectivelyinitially serve as standoffs to cause the outer skin 14 to be spaced agiven distance from the inner panel 18. By tightening the nuts 268 thesprings 270 compress thereby allowing the operator to draw in the outerskin as necessary to bring it flush with the adjacent vehicle bodyportions.

After the outer skin adjustment has been completed, the doorconstruction is finalized by inserting a plurality of perimeter screws272 between the sides 254 of the inner panel 18 and sides 252 ofmounting plate 250. Then, the inner trim panel 16 can be attached to theinterior side of the door module 12.

(6) Window Glass Access from Bottom of the Door

With special reference to FIGS. 1 and 6, the lower leg 24 of the innerframe 18 includes a cutout portion 300. Cutout 300 has a width greaterthan the width of the window glass 126 and is generally aligned with thebottom of the glass track 100. Mounting plate 250 includes a lower lip302 which extends inwardly and is dimensioned so that it is slightlylarger than the dimensions of cutout 300. As a result, the lip 302covers the cutout 300 when the outer skin/mounting plate subassembly isattached to the door module 12 as described above.

If it becomes necessary to repair or replace the window glass 126, itbecomes an easy task to do so. Once the outer skin/mounting plateassembly has been removed from the door module 12, the window glass 126and its carrier bracket 304 can be disconnected from sector drive 52 andslid downwardly along lower portions of glass track 100 and then out ofcutout 300. A new window glass is easily replaced by reversing thisprocedure.

B. Summary

In view of the foregoing, it can now be appreciated that the modulardoor approach of the present invention provides significant advantagesover conventional door structures. Among these advantages is that themajor portions of the door can be assembled and tested off line in anefficient manner. Other features of this invention is that it providesthe door with a significant range of adjustments necessary to provide agood fit. Still other advantages will become apparent to those skilledin the art after having the benefit of a study of the specification,drawings and following claims.

We claim:
 1. A vehicle door comprising:an inner panel havinglaterally-extending side walls and a longitudinally-extending peripheralface with an enlarged central opening therein; an intrusion beam securedto said inner panel and longitudinally bridging said opening; doorlatching hardware attached to the beam; window regulating hardwareattached to the beam; a plurality of slots located about four corners ofthe peripheral face of the inner panel; an outer skin; a mounting plateattached to interior peripheral portions of the outer skin, the mountingplate having laterally-extending side walls conforming in part toportions of the inner panel side walls, the mounting plate alsoincluding a longitudinally-extending face spaced from the outer skin;threaded fasteners connected to the mounting plate and located ingeneral alignment with the slots in the inner panel, the threadedfasteners having a head located in the space between the plate face andouter skin, the fasteners having a threaded shank projecting inwardlythrough slots in the mounting plate and through the slots in the innerpanel; and means threaded onto the fastener shanks on the interior sideof the inner panel whereby the door construction enables the outer skinto be adjusted into precise alignment with adjacent body portions of thevehicle.
 2. The door of claim 1 wherein the slots in the mounting platerun in a generally transverse direction with respect to the slots in theinner panel.
 3. The door of claim 1 which further comprises:spring meanslocated between the mounting plate and the inner panel for pressing theouter skin away from the inner panel.
 4. The door of claim 3 whereinsaid spring means comprises compression springs surrounding the shanksof said fasteners.
 5. The door of claim 1 wherein marginal edges of saidouter skin are folded over edges of the mounting plate to attach theskin to the plate.
 6. The door of claim 1 which further includesfastener means for fastening together the side walls of the mountingplate and inner panel.
 7. The door of claim 1 which further includes atrim pad covering lower interior portions of the inner panel.
 8. Avehicle door comprising:an inner panel; an outer panel affixed to theinner panel by way of a mounting plate secured to the outer panel; awindow glass; window track means connected to said inner panel forguiding edges of the window glass; and bottom portions of the innerpanel and mounting plate being configured so that upon removal of themounting plate and outer panel from the inner panel there is exposed anopening in bottom portions of the door inner panel having a widthgreater than the width of the window glass and generally alignedtherewith and with the window tracks whereby the glass can be removed bysliding it out of the bottom of the door.
 9. The door of claim 8 whereinthe bottom portion of the inner panel includes a cut out and themounting plate includes a lip covering the cut out when the door isassembled.
 10. The door of claim 9 which further comprises:an intrusionbeam connected to the inner panel interiorly of said window track means.11. The door of claim 10 which further comprises:window regulator meansmounted to the beam for controlling movement of the window glass.